mjbalogh's Chopper/Bobber '81 GS750LX

[mjbalogh]

Hi everyone,

It's my first post, but I figured that I would use it to track the progress of my build as well. BTW, great site with lots of info. Since this is my first venture into the world of Suzuki, I'm sure that I'll have lots of questions.

I was gifted with a 1981 GS750LX that sat unused for at least a year. I'm turning it into a chopper/bobber project that I'll have running shortly. I'll also include pics of my progress as I go along (although I don't have a before pic). Here are the things that are done already on the bike:

• Cleaned the carbs. They were pretty badly varnished, so I did a complete tear-down and rebuild.
• Tossed the air box. I'm going in favor of pods. 4 for the carbs and 1 for the crank case.
• Removed the side-panels. They were cracked anyway. I may fab some new ones or just leave them off altogether. I haven't decided yet.
• Chopped the tail. Yep. Right behind the rear shock bolts. I'm going to single-seat it anyway.
• Lower the back-end. I tossed the rear shocks, had some struts fabed to lower the rear end and turn it more into a rigid frame.
• Bobbed the rear fender. It now sits low and ends just a little past dead center over the rear tire. It's a rigid fram, so I don't have to worry about tire travel. I've figured how I'm going to mount it, just need to finish it up. I'm not sure if I'll leave it chromed or paint it yet. If I leave it chrome (probably), I'll have those three little holes from the original tail light. If I paint it, I can fill them. Decisions, decisions...
• Picked up a La Pera single seat. I still have to fab some mounts on the frame for it, but it'll look nice when done.

ToDo:

• Pick up a new gas tank. The old one disintegrated while I was doing a pre-lining cleaning. I may eventually fab a coffin-tank, but at the moment I just need a new one to get her up and running. If anyone knows where I can pick up a good tank for cheap, please let me know.
• Rebuild/replace the petcock. I've already cleaned it, but the little rubber valve by the vacuum tube died a horrible death.
• Braided steel brake lines
• V&H 4-into-1 exhaust
• Re-jet the carbs. With pods and the exhaust, I'll probably jump 2-3 sizes depending.
• New bar, grips, levers, controls. I'm undecided if I should go with ape-hangers or drag bars with new risers. If I go with risers, I'll probably have to fab them.
• Scrap original gauges and install single small speedo
• New electrics (R/R, Stator, ignition, etc)
• Fab forward controls. Thanks to cruiserlove for the initial instructions. I'm going to file off the serial numbers and convert it to a beefier setup. Probably change it to a toe-kick style shifter since I'm not a big fan of toe-heel setups. If I get something working that I'm proud of I'll post plans for anyone that would like them. I'll probably set it up to accept male connection custom pegs/shifter stud/brake pedal although it shouldn't be tough to for others to change it to tack on the originals (maybe even list the deviation in the plans).
• Ceramic coat the engine. I was thinking of high-temp engine paint, but I'll probably do a high-temp ceramic coating instead. Black base with bare/clear coated top fin edges of course. I may also clear coat other various edges to add extra pop into the look. It should make the engine run even cooler than the paint (if I'm thinking correctly).

[Mr_Shake]

I found a cycle salvage yard near where I live, but they usually rob you on big items like tanks, seats, etc. eBay is ok, but you will probably get taken. I have found that the classified section of this forum is the best way to go. The people here are always willing to help out, and there will surely be someone out there with the part you need.

IMHO, drag bars will give you the edgier modern chopper look. If you are going for a nasty 70's style, then go ape hangers. There are so many options, check 21enterprises for inexpensive bars. Good luck!

[JSC]

I would be careful about how you coat the engine. The fins are the only thing shedding heat (except maybe an oil cooler) so you should avoid insulating coatings. All of the ceramic coatings that i have used were designed to keep heat in, not help it to escape. Think of a car's header, you ceramic coat it to keep engine bay temps down - by reflecting that heat back into the header.

[mjbalogh]

I would be careful about how you coat the engine. The fins are the only thing shedding heat (except maybe an oil cooler) so you should avoid insulating coatings. All of the ceramic coatings that i have used were designed to keep heat in, not help it to escape. Think of a car's header, you ceramic coat it to keep engine bay temps down - by reflecting that heat back into the header.

That's a really good point. Thanks for clearing a brain cramp.

[CA180]

I must say...

This thread is worthless without pics!!!

[mjbalogh]

Don't worry, I'll add pics of the old girl as soon as I get home from work. The camera's battery is charging so that I can add them

[mortation]

Yea! Pics Pics Pics!

[mjbalogh]

OK. I finally had some time to grab pics of the old girl. Keep in mind that she's still a major work in progress (and, let's be honest... she will be as long as I own her). I was working on stripping the tank, so there's some residue left (I wanted to see if it would be worth it to have the holes welded/braised). The tank, seat, and rear fender are just resting on the bike, and not in their final bolt-on positions and I need to finish bobbing the rear fender before I mount it.

But... without further adieu... pics:


Also, I've been doing some digging about the ceramic coatings, and I understand ceramic coating the pipes to trap and channel the heat, but I've also seen some of the spendier high-temp engine enamels that use ceramic to help release the heat. That said, I have a lot more digging before I finally sit down to tearing her all apart to coat/paint the engine and powdercoat the frame.

--
Michael

[Mr_Shake]

I think choppers look great with 4 cyl. engines.

[Ironriot]

Where did you get that seat? Interesting looking bike there. I think I might follow your lead here its looking good with the chopped tail and fender. I personally don't like how they look without rear fenders

P.s. let it be known that you have alot of bikes. I can take one off your hands for you :-D

[80GS1000]

That's nice. \\/ :-D

[mjbalogh]

Where did you get that seat? Interesting looking bike there. I think I might follow your lead here its looking good with the chopped tail and fender. I personally don't like how they look without rear fenders

P.s. let it be known that you have alot of bikes. I can take one off your hands for you :-D

It's a Le Pera seat. They make Harley seats, but if you can fab mounts, they do the trick. They're a touch on the spendey side though. If I remember right it's the barebones solo.

All of the bikes in the pics are ridden by myself or family during our weekend rides, so it would be a bad idea for one to find a new home. Sorry.

[mortation]

Pretty slick You may want to put some springs on that seat though cause with the steal bars in place of your shocks its gonna be a rough ride

As for a coffin tank you can get them from Daemon Cycles via ebay or their website. I think they had some cheap ones for around $100.

I think CRC2 has em too.

[CA180]

Dang dude! That nice!

Looks like what i been wanting to do with my bike.

Please, no coffin tank!

Looks kinda like something from Bratstyle

You should check them out

[mjbalogh]

I've been tossing around the idea of springing the seat for that exact reason. The solo seat I have is comfortable, but doesn't have a whole hell of a lot in the way of padding. Once I get her on the road I'll see how bad my backside hurts after a good amount of miles and may go back and spring it.

I'd prefer a coffin to a lot of the stretched tanks that are sitting on most long bikes for a few reasons. 1) I grew up with coffin tanks, and 2) they're not that common anymore. Actually, the design that I came up with is almost a hybrid coffin/prism tank. At least for the time being, I'm just trying to get a tank that doesn't leak like a sieve.

Unfortunately, I haven't had time to work on her this week, so she still looks exactly like the above pics. I'm hoping to have time this week to get back in there.